From HRCFCOMM@aol.com Wed Jan 11 17:32:35 1995
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 17:29:01 -0500
Subject: WPB ANTI-GAY INITIATIVE DEFEATED
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PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND
The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 1995
ANTI-GAY INITIATIVE DEFEATED IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA
Vote Mirrors National Trend of Rejecting Extremist Agenda
WASHINGTON -- In a defeat to anti-gay extremists that
mirrors a growing national trend, voters in West Palm Beach,
Florida, last night rejected an anti-gay initiative pushed by the
Christian Coalition and American Family Association. The vote
was 56-44 to defeat the initiative, which would have denied
lesbian and gay people basic protection under the city's
non-discrimination law. The 22 percent turnout in yesterday's
special election more than doubled the turnout of the last two
city elections.
"The voters who changed the face of Congress have once again
rejected discrimination and supported the fundamental value of
equal rights," said Stacie Spector, director of Americans Against
Discrimination, a program of the Human Rights Campaign Fund
(HRCF) that assists communities targeted by radical right
political groups. "People came out to vote in record numbers and
said no to discrimination. This sends yet another message to
anti-gay extremists that their divisive agenda is way outside the
mainstream."
Voters rejected similar measures Nov. 8 in Idaho and Oregon,
where the Christian Coalition and other national political groups
had pressured voters to approve discriminatory amendments. The
Christian Coalition financed a negative advertising campaign in
West Palm Beach, airing television advertisements that distorted
the fundamental issue: Local non-discrimination laws are
necessary to protect people from losing their jobs or homes to
anti-gay discrimination, because no federal or state of Florida
law prohibits this kind of discrimination. The American Family
Association has sponsored a similar anti-gay measure in Tampa,
which will appear on city ballots March 10.
"The radical right groups wanted a wave to sweep through
Florida, but it stopped in West Palm Beach," said Timothy
Cavanaugh, assistant director of Americans Against
Discrimination, who spent several weeks in West Palm Beach
assisting the local Citizens for Fairness campaign in defeating
the initiative. HRCF also appealed to its 2,750 members across
Florida to support the local campaign. "Citizens for Fairness did
an excellent job of organizing the community and educating the
public about the problem of anti-gay discrimination. The people
of West Palm Beach clearly believe that no one who wants to do
their job and contribute to the community should be singled out
for discrimination."
The West Palm Beach vote reflects a growing, bipartisan
consensus across the country. In a national post-election poll
of people who voted in the November election, 70 percent said gay
people should not face unfair discrimination, particularly in the
workplace -- with 64 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of
Independents and 77 percent of Democrats supporting the idea.
The poll, conducted by the independent firm of Mellman Lazarus
Lake, Inc., had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.
In Oregon, where the Christian Coalition mailed 650,000
"voter guides" directing people to approve a discriminatory
ballot measure Nov. 8, voters rejected the initiative. In
conservative Idaho, where voters sent a full GOP slate to
Congress, a similar anti-gay measure went down in defeat.
"In the midst of November's Republican sweep, voters sent a
clear message that their vision of change included equal rights
for lesbian and gay Americans," said Spector. "These polls and
election results show a continuing trend among voters of all
political stripes in support of equal rights for lesbian and gay
Americans."
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